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Some flavor crazes flirt with us and fade. Others stay and make themselves at home. Its too soon to tell for sure, but the Dubai chocolate movement seems to have put down roots and is spreading at a brisk clip. The sweet flavors and thick texture that have made Dubai chocolate bars a hit are morphing into other kinds of confections too. Lets back up for a minute. The original and now-classic Dubai chocolate bar was created by Fix Chocolatier in the United Arab Emirates in 2021, and by 2023 had exploded on social media. Rich and indulgent, it features a thick, milk chocolate shell usually encasing a creamy pistachio (and often tahini) filling mixed with crispy, shredded, phyllo-like pastry called kadayif. Global brands and small bakers alike are riffing on the concept with different flavors, translating the concept to croissants, milkshakes, and more. Fillings range from peanut butter and jelly to smores to matcha. I dont call this a trend anymore its a whole new thing, said Din Allall, whose family business, The Nuts Factory, has about 150 U.S. stores featuring nuts, dried fruits, and candies. He carries 12 flavors of Dubai chocolate bar, as well as chocolate- and pistachio-covered Dubai dates, Dubai-coated roasted nuts, a layered Dubai chocolate strawberry parfait, and a Dubai Golden Chocolate bar infused with edible 24-karat gold for $79.99 (their regular 6.5-ounce bars sell for $18.99). It’s not just the flavors that make Dubai chocolate different, Allall says, but the bar’s structure too “huge, thick, with lots of filling.” Big retailers and restaurants have gotten on board Trader Joes carries a Dubai chocolate bar made by Patislove. IHOP introduced a limited-time Dubai pancake stack in some locations in August. Baskin-Robbins has some Dubai-inspired ice cream products on its menu, while Costco sells a range of Dubai chocolate confections, including a Dubai chocolate cake. Walmart and QVC also sell Dubai chocolate. Swiss chocolate giant Lindt has a bar, and drew crowds when it debuted a limited number of them in Europe last fall. For me, its the crunch,” said Erica Lefkowits, who was buying some Dubai chocolate recently in Dublin. “The chocolate is soft and melty, and the filling is creamy, and then the crunch of the kadayif. Its all about the texture. Plus, its sugar. She was a little annoyed at the price, higher than your average chocolate bar. Part of Dubai chocolate’s appeal, though, is the way it feels simultaneously indulgent and worldly. Pistachios, rose, saffron and cardamom bring luxury, travel and exoticism to the chocolate party. Despite the price, Ive never seen a single item sell like this in my 50 years of retailing, said Stew Leonard, Jr., CEO of Stew Leonard’s grocery stores in the New York metropolitan area. The chain introduced the BeeMax Dubai chocolate bar in March, watched it fly out the doors, he said, and then launched their own house-branded version (made by the company Chocopologie). They’ve introduced a Dubai chocolate gift box for the holidays, which includes teeny Dubai ice cream cones, Dubai pralines and two bars. Some other widely distributed brands in the U.S. are Moda, Magno and Leonessa. Other iterations of Dubai chocolate include Chocolove’s little candies and Matteo’s Coffee Syrups’ sugar-free chocolate coffee syrup. Katie Workman, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
For its 50th anniversary, Zara has partnered with 50 designers and creators for a collection you might not expect from a fast-fashion mall brand. The Spanish fashion retailer unveiled its 50th anniversary collection at Paris Fashion Week with collaborators that include photographer Annie Leibovitz, supermodel Cindy Crawford, stage designer Es Devlin, and musician Robbie Williams. Available worldwide beginning Oct. 6, the collection does include plenty to wear (Leibovitz contributed a photo for a t-shirt), but what stands out most are the non-apparel items. This is about a whole lot more than clothes. Es Devlin [Photo: Zara] Devlin, whose build stages for artists like Adele, Beyoncé, and U2, contributed a square-shaped concrete lamp, and Williams a mirror that says “You Can, You Must, And You Will.” Robbie Williams [Photo: Zara] Sarah Andelman, a Paris store owner, made a fun book holder that can hang in the closet, and there’s a yellow-and-black dinnerware set from artist Sterling Ruby and a pyramid lamp from French designer Alex de Betak. Many of the pieces are meant to be conversation starters, like a Barbie pink surfboard from Balenciaga creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and a pair of gold-colored ash trays are from Kate Moss. Alex De Betak [Photo: Zara] Zara has grown from a single store that opened in A Corua, Spain, in 1975 to about 1,800 stores today. According to PitchBook data, Zara generates two-thirds of revenue for parent company Inditex. Its anniversary collection, with is high-end home goods, wants to send a message about its staying power half a century in. It’s a flex from a company that might be better known for clothes you wear just once. Pierpaolo Piccioli [Photo: Zara]
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E-Commerce
It’s the life of a saleswoman. Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, sold 2.7 million copies in traditional album sales which include physical and digital formats in its first day in the U.S. That’s according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company. The album was released Friday. The sales are impressive for a number of reasons. Swift has broken her record for most first-week sales… in one day. Her last album, 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, amassed 2.61 million equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week. The Life of a Showgirl has also become the second-largest sales week for any album in the modern era, since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. That was also accomplished in just one day. Currently, Adele’s 25, which sold 3.378 million copies in its first week in 2015 in the U.S., holds the top spot. Also, according to Luminate, The Life of a Showgirl has already broken the record for the most copies of a vinyl album sold in a single week in the U.S., with 1.2 million copies. The previous record holder? The Tortured Poets Department, which sold 859,000 copies on vinyl in its first week. Swift’s many variants may have something to do with the album’s economic success. One of her major partners, Target, carries three CD variants, titled as Its Frightening, Its Rapturous and Its Beautiful editions. There is also an exclusive vinyl release, The Crowd Is Your King edition in summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl. There are a number of other vinyl variants as well: The Tiny Bubble in Champagne Collection, The Baby Thats Show Business Collection, The Shiny Bug Collection, and the standard LP and cassette, in sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange vinyl. Artwork varies throughout, likely inspiring diehard fans to pick up multiple copies. And most recently, on Saturday, Swift announced four new CD variants featuring acoustic renditions of the album’s tracks. Each edition features two different stripped-down recordings. She also dominated the box office over the weekend with her three-day event, The Official Release Party of a Show Girl, which debuted at No. 1 with $33 million in North America, according to Sunday estimates from Comscore. Maria Sherman, AP music writer
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E-Commerce
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